February 9, 1989, 20 year old University of Florida student, Tiffany Sessions told her roommate she was going for a jog and never returned. That was the last time anyone ever saw Tiffany. This week marked the 20th year anniversary of Tiffany’s disappearance from Gainesville, Florida.

Earlier this week, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office announced new leads in the case. Tiffany’s father, Patrick Sessions, a Miami resident and dedicated missing children advocate told the Miami Herald he does not expect to find Tiffany alive. He just wants closure.

The Sessions Family launched the “Official Tiffany Sessions” Website, http://tiffanysessions.com/. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip. It’s also a resource for other families coping with the disappearance of a loved one.

The Sessions family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the remains of Tiffany Sessions and the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her abduction. Anyone with information about Tiffany’s disappearance should call Detective Bob Dean at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office at (352) 367-4161. Callers can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest by calling Crime Stoppers at 372-STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can be left on the web site at http://www.alachuasheriff.org. Please help this family get closure.

One of the most devastating events that can happen to a family is the disappearance of a child. Can you imagine the agony this family has suffered for 20 long years? Think about it. Almost a lifetime of not knowing what happened to your child, your flesh and blood! The not knowing is simply torturous. If you know anything at all about Tiffany’s disappearance, please come forward and help this family get the answers they’ve been waiting for.

In most likelihood, Tiffany is probably gone. Her family may never have the chance to see her smiling face and get to hold her in their arms again. But her name and memory lives on.

Last year, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 502, the “Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act.” Governor Charlie Crist signed the bill, which broadens the authority of FDLE’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse to provide assistance on investigations involving missing adults younger than 26 and missing adults age 26 and older who are suspected by law enforcement to be in danger.

“In addition, the Act requires that local law enforcement authorities transmit missing child and adult reports to the state and federal criminal databases within two hours of receiving the report. The local law enforcement agency investigating the case must also attempt to obtain a DNA sample if the child or adult has been missing for more than 90 days. These DNA profiles will be analyzed and uploaded into the FBI’s National DNA Index System and continuously searched against unidentified human remains.”

What a huge leap for missing persons in my hometown state of Florida! Just a year ago, if someone over 18 went missing, law enforcement could easily say the missing person has every right to disappear. The law didn’t require police to do much. Having dealt with the disappearance of my friend, Lilly Aramburo, I can tell you that the Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act is of immense benefit to missing persons! And an ode to Tiffany.